Ventilated cushion



Patented May 30, 1933 P. or OKLAHOMA' CITY, OKLAHOMA* vnmrrna'rnnc'crsmon appucmon una api-11 1s,

The present invention relates to cushions Y and particularly i. to a.ventilated cushion l which not only is'comfortable to sit upon but whichis also `ventilated so as to permit the heat from ones body tobeconveyed away and thereby make the cushionmore comfortable to sit upon.

My present invention relates particularly to the inner construction ofthe cushion which l is very simple and effective.

One object of this invention is to provide a. simplified constructionfor cushions which is very effective for the'purposes intended.

Another object of this invention residesin using a coiled 'spring Woundin spirall form to form a substantially flat cushion of considerablearea which 1s relatively lthin and yet quite resilient so as to make thedevice comfortable to the user thereof.

Other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter, the novelfeatures, arrangements and combinations being clearly se forth-in theaccompanying claims. v

In the drawings:

25 Fig. 1 represents an elevation of a cushion embodying my invention,parts thereof beinV broken away for the sake of clearness; ig. 2 is aview showing the construction ofthe coiled spring which forms the innerpart of the cushion just before the inal step of making the same;

Fig. 3 is a section taken along the line 3--3of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a. section taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a section taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

The present construction is adapted particularly for cushions to be usedon the seats of automobiles and the like. As previously pointed out, itis desired that the cushion be well ventilated and at the same timeconstructed in such a manner as to make the same comfortable to thedriver. vAnother *5 novel feature'resides in the simplified constructionof the cushion asl it is very desirable to produce a-relativelyinexpensive cushion so that the demand therefor will be increased.Motorists are not inclined to pay a very conV` '50 siderable amount forany cushion of this nal11131. serial No. 529,006.

tureA and at the same time they demand a comfortable cushion. With thepresent invention the construction is relatively simple and yet is quiterugged and can be produced at a. relatively /small cost as compared withL some of the known constructionsof cushions. The outer portion of thecushion is formed by two layers of relatively loosely woven fabricindicated by the reference lnumeral 1. In the embodiment shown 'thesealways are G0 of circular form and are bound together at their edges bythe leather binding lstrip-v2 having the stitching 3 which firmly holdsthe leather binding strip in place.

Within the cover there is` a circularsub- 66 stantially rigid outerframe 4 formed of a piece of heavy wire secured together at its ends bya couplingl member 5 which is indented at 6 in any'suitable mannersofasto hold the opposite ends 7 of the wire in fixed Z0 relation witheach other. It is obvious, of course, that other means may be used forholding the ends of the wire together, and ifdesired, the part 5 may bedispensed with and the ends 7 welded or otherwise per- H5 manentlysecured together. However, the construction shownv in Fig. 5 is onewhich enables me to reduce the cost of manufacture and render itrelatively simple for an inexperienced operator to construct the same.

The resilient portion of the cushion is supported by its outer frame 4and comprises principally three'elements--an outer coiled member 5, aninner coiled member 6 and a piece of wire 7 which isl used. to hold thele turns of the coils in proper relation with each other.

The outer coil 5 is a plain coil of uniform diameter which embraces theframe 4, as is clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The 90 meeting endsof the coil 5, seen in Fig. 2 at the upper left thereof, are indicatedby the reference numerals 8, these ends being intertwined with eachother so that portions thereof and of the adjacent turns of the coil 05lie in parallelism, as is clearly illustrated in this figure. I thenbend the ends 8 of each coil about the adjacent turns of the coil so asto make a substantially endless coilem bracing the'outer frame member 4.With .100

PATENToFl-"lcs 7T' itself, beginning at the center of theframe- 7. Thewire 7 has one end l() thereof (see Fig. 2) embracing several of thecoils atv the center so as to hold them together to form a nucleus forthe remaining portion of the spiral into which the coil spring is to beformed. The spring is then wound in a spiral form and as the Windingproceeds, the

wire 7 is threaded through adjacent turns of the coil in one layer ofthe spiral and the turns of the coils in the next succeeding layerthereof. This arrangement -is'quite clearly illustrated in Figs. 3 and4. lVith this arrangement the various turns of the spiral cannot moveaway from each other although they are permitted to move toward eachother and have the turnsof adjacent layers of the spiral overlap morethan is shown in the drawings.

The spiral is continued until it is just slightly larger than the areadefined by the 'inner portions-of the coil 5 and the wire 7 ispassedvthrough the overlapping portions of the outer turns of the spiralande the turns of the coil 5. The other end of the wire 7 is thereafterwrapped about the outer framework asat 11A to thereby move all of theturns yof the spiral in an outward direction and hold them extended inthe form shown to 'prevent their moving` in towards the center of the siral.l As willbe noted at 12 in Fig. 1 and ig. 2, the last few turns ofthe inner coil A6 overlap considerably the turns of the outer coil 5. Itis because of the fact that it isrelatively hard to form a smooth .outeryedge by using ya spirally wound coil that lI- prefer to use the outercoil 5 in oonjunction with the inner spiral.l However, I wish to have itunderstood the outer coil is not an absolute necessity but does havedesirable' features'which are not possessed by a true spirally wound,coiled member. The outerl end-ot' the coil 6, indicated at 13, islooped-'about an adjacent turn of the previous so as to prevent theunravelin'g of the C01. w v1: I After the coils have been interlaced asi-ll'ustrated in Fig. 2 the same are placed between two presses whichmay be hydraulic presses or`any other known type of presses, and these`presses are brought towards each other against opposite sides of thedevice illustrated -in Fig. 2. As the presses are brought toward Veachother, they are rotated in opposite directions relative to each other.or at least one of the presses is rotated so that there is a relativerotation of the presses, the

primary action of the press being to flatten the coils toward one sideso that the coils will yield in that direction, while the secondarypurpose is to cause a circular relatlve movement between the presses sothat the coils will all be attened in one direction. Furthermorerif thepresses were brought againstfthe coils withoutfany rotatingAmovementf11e result would be that when the cushion was in use the turnsof the coil would be- 'come flattened, i.'e., they would tend to formellipses, which, of course, is not desired. After the presses haveoperated the turns ofthe coils assume the positions indicated thereforin Fig. 1. Hence, when the user sits on thecushion thecoils all flattenor overlap 'each other and form a. resilient cushion which will quicklyresume its natural shape due to the resistance which the wire 'has totorsional forces. In other Words, when the coils are attened intooverlapping relation, the wire is twisted in a direction transverse toits length and the tensile resistance of the wire is suiiicient to causethe same tozresume its normal shape when the cushionis not in use. Inother words, Ik preferably use a wire which is relatively strong in itsresistance against torsional forces. i

As already stated, the cover is formed of a relatively loosely Wovenmaterial having a sort of basket weave to it.h The particular weave-isnot important to this invention, ein cept that it should be such thatair will readf ily circulate therethrough.

One advantage of lmy invention is thatI may form a continuous coil of-wirefwhich forms the essential part of .my inventiomand cnt the sameinto the lengths necessaryfoi` making the completed cushion and usingonly two other elements, viz: the-outer frame and the wire 7 which holdthe turns of the coils in proper relation to each other. The bind -ingstrip 2 prevents the edges of the.. cover stress when the cushion is Satupon and ac# cordingly ythe life of the cushion'isuprncticallyindefinite. i

This ventilated cushion'has a number of desirable features which makethe same more useful than other devices designed for motorists for likepurposes. Where merely the loosely woven fabric covering is used uponthe seat of an automobile there is notfsutiicient ventilation due to thecloseness with which the cover is pressed against the seat in the`automobile, the seat of the automobile generally being covered with afabric which will not permit the passage of air therethrough to anyconsiderable extent.

With rubber inated cushions designed primarily for ease in riding thereis no means for ventilation provided, and consequently this type oflcushion is undesirable. With my device, however, the cushion is notonly resilient to conform, more or less, to the shape of' the,individual and thereby make long 5 drives less tirasonw, but it alsoprovides a considerable amount of air space from which the airy canreadily escape, and be replenished from time to time to cause a completerecirculation of air through the cushion While it is being used.

@ther modifications of my invention will occur to those skilled in theart to which this invention pertains and therefore I do not Wish to belimited in my invention except assetforth in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim and desire toobtain by Letters Patent is:

1. The method of manufacturing cushions comprising the steps of forminga coil of substantially uniform diameter from a spring Wire, forming thecoil into substantially spiral form with the turnsof the coil ar rangedin planes substantially normal to the axis of the spiral, providingmeans for holding;r said coils in spiral formation and twisting all ofthe turns of the coil simultaneously so that they are arranged in planeswhich are other than normal to the axis of said spiral.

80 The process of making a `resilient cushion comprising the steps offorming a coiled spring of substantially uniform diameter, Windingthecoiled spring into a spiral form providing means for holding said coilsin spiral formation and bringing presses to bear against opposite sidesof said coiled spring, and moving-said presses relatively to 'each otherin a circular direction which is substantially parallel with the planeof the 40 spiral'to thereby Hatten adjacent turns of the coils in thesame direction as the presses are brought toward each other. v

3. The method of forming a cushion from v spring Wire which comprisesthe steps of forming a` coil of` substantially uniform cross-sectionwith the turns of the coil sub# stantially parallel with each other andthe axes of each single turn of the coil substantially parallel with andconcentric to the axis of the coil, winding the coil into spiralformation, providinf,r means forholdingz said coils in spiral formation,and thereafter simultaneously twisting the individual turns of the coilout of their first position so that their axes are at an appreciableangle with the axis of the spiral and eccentric with respect to the axesof the other individual turns of the coil.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

ERSKINE P. HARLEY.

